1. Stranger In Town Gunsmoke
2. Stranger In Town 1998
3. The Stranger In Town Mac Os Catalina

Tass Times in Tonetown is an adventure game published by Activision in 1986. It was designed by Michael Berlyn and Muffy McClung Berlyn and programmed by Rebecca Heineman of Interplay (credited as Bill Heineman) in cooperation with Brainwave Creations.^[1]

Tass Times was released for the Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Macintosh, and IBM PC compatibles. It was the first commercial game for the IIGS.^[1]

Plot[edit]

The plot of the game involves the player getting sucked into Tonetown, a surreal alternate world seemingly based on a distillation of 1980s culture, with overtones of punk and new wave culture (such as pink hair, etc.). The word 'Tass' in the title refers to an adjective used within the parallel world of Tonetown. Its basic meaning is somewhat akin to 'cool' or 'hip'. Game designer Michael Berlyn gives the following source for the word:

Explore StrangerVille, a rural desert town shrouded in secrecy. Encounter weird weather, creepy townies, dangerous plants, odd collectibles, and more. Mac OS (All cursers) Cursor Set by yellowwinner. All of the Mac OS pointers. Don't be a stranger - log-in or register. It only takes few seconds. Stranger In Town Lyrics: Now I may not be familiar with your language / But I sure would like to cross over your bridge / Said I may not dress in style as the men in your town do / But I sure know.

Muffy and I were employed there [at Harvard], teaching creative writing. And the motto of Harvard is 'Veritas,' which means 'truth.' We took to saying 'very tass' to mean, 'very true,' or 'too true.' Our students picked it up and started applying it to something that was cool. So very tass turned into very hip or cool.^[2]'

The game's narrative begins with the player character inside a cabin belonging to 'Gramps', a relative and inventor who has gone missing. While searching the cabin, the player activates one of Gramps' latest inventions: a device that resembles an electronically powered hoop. Gramps' pet dog, Spot, jumps through the active hoop and disappears. The player follows him and is transported to the mysterious Tonetown world alongside Spot, discovering that 'Spot', in this world, is not only sentient and capable of speech but is actually a celebrity resident named 'Ennio the Legend'. Ennio travels along with the player, providing commentary and advice as well alerting the player to danger.

The player learns that Gramps' mysterious disappearance extends even into the Tonetown world, and may have been arranged by the villainous Franklin Snarl. Snarl, a surreal combination of a pig, a raccoon and (most obviously) a crocodile, is a ruthless business magnate. He is also a murderously hostile Tonetown nativist, openly violent to most 'tourists' (foreigners) he encounters. His negative effects on the local culture had begun to attract media attention against him, culminating in the disappearance of Gramps.

To progress in the game, the player must assimilate into Tonetown's culture, using guitar picks as currency and partaking in its party scene, its 'tass' music, including the popular band The Daglets, and such delicacies as 'GloBurgers'. The player encounters technology unique to Tonetown such as the 'zagtone' (a device that plays variable notes depending on what object it is struck against), as well as bizarre creatures including the cute but destructive 'blobpet' and dangerous monsters. The blobpet also makes an appearance in the animated intro exclusive to the Apple II, Commodore 64, and PC ports.

Sep 10, 2016 Rated 4 out of 5 by denniann2 from it was an ok game there is a custom level and a map which i didn't use because the hint system would teleort me where i needed to go. You have been asked to come to this town because people are disappearing and they want to know the reason why. You find out that an unsuccessful inventor has been kicked to the curb once again but he is approached by a man. Stranger in Town Robert McCarther Jazz. 2017 Preview SONG TIME Stranger in Town. 6:23 PREVIEW It's over Now (Well You Needn't) 2. 4:53 PREVIEW Hi Fly.

Gramps is eventually revealed to be Snarl's prisoner, held captive in an island office tower. After rescuing him, the player brings the group to a final confrontation with Snarl at his mansion, with Snarl possessing the Tonetown world's iteration of the hoop device. While Ennio holds Snarl at bay, Gramps activates the hoop and the player throws Snarl through it. The player enters the hoop and is returned to the 'normal' world just outside Gramps' cabin, discovering that Snarl's arrival into the normal world has transformed him into three separate creatures - which the game's narrator describes as 'a cute little pig, a darling raccoon, and a little crocodile shedding a few tears'.

Talking to Snarl during the final sequence reveals that Gramps himself had created him, using the hoop device and the three original animal specimens, and that he had captured Gramps with the intention of continuing his work at any cost. It is also hinted that Tonetown itself may have been created entirely by Gramps' imagination, who then discovered a way to physically travel to it.

Gameplay[edit]

The game is an example of the graphical text adventure genre. Somewhat like classical text adventures or the early Sierra games, players use text commands (e.g. 'TAKE HOOPLET') to interact with the game, but like LucasArts adventure games (or the later Sierra games), they also use an intuitive GUI. The player viewed the world of the game through a small window at the top left of the screen in which their surroundings were displayed. Much like The Bard's Tale, this view was static (or mostly so); it was not animated, though it was context-sensitive (players could click on objects in this window rather than typing their names).

Like many text adventures of this era, Tass Times had its share of possible unwinnable situations in which players can discover themselves trapped. The most infamous of these is Gramps' lab book, which is found in his cabin at the start of the game, and is used to complete the game at almost its very end. Hapless players can leave the book behind only to realize it is needed for game completion right when they are on the verge of completing it. Other scenarios include many possible instances of saving the game in situations in which death can never be avoided in time, such as in a location too far away from the shopping boutiques, so that Snarl will kill a player still deemed a 'tourist' before Tonetown apparel and hairstyles can ever be purchased.

Ports[edit]

Tass Times had different features and graphics depending on which system it was developed for. This was a common practice for games of its era due to the disparate abilities of the systems of that era. For example, the higher-end system (Amiga, Atari ST and Apple IIGS) versions had 16-32 color graphics and wavetable sound, while the lower-end (Apple II, PC) versions had more rudimentary graphics. Likewise, the higher-end systems supported sound, while some of the lower-end ports had no sound capability. The low-end versions, however, had a fully animated intro screen, depicting what may have been Ennio's first arrival into the mundane world. The Apple II version can run in 6-color HGR graphics on 64k models or 16-color DHGR graphics on 128k models.

The Amiga and Atari ST versions, while very similar, have some differences. The Amiga version has a title song, where the Atari ST version does not. Though they both share the same title screen as seen at the top right of this page. Interestedly, the Atari ST version has some animated scenes within the game.

The PC port was one of the earliest games for IBM compatibles to support mice, which were rare in 1985 and had little software that could use them. Since it was a booter game and no drivers were loaded, the programmers had to code their own routines to read a serial mouse.^[2]

András Szigethy converted the Commodore 64 version of Tass Times to Commodore Plus/4.

Reception[edit]

Stranger In Town Gunsmoke

Compute! stated that the Amiga version of Tass Times in Tonetown was a 'fascinating new game' with 'superb color graphics', calling the story 'unusual'.^[3] Hartley and Pattie Lesser similarly commented on the game in their 'The Role of Computers' column in Dragon #116 (1986), stating 'This one is truly bizarre'.^[4]Computer Gaming World's Charles Ardai agreed, stating that the 'strange story' did not interest him.^[5]

Roy Wagner reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that 'This game is a relatively easy adventure with the added twist of the reality in which it is played. Get tass, stay tone-ly and find Gramps.'^[6]

Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Tass Times in Tonetown, calling it a 'Challenging, unique game with [a] sense of humor.' Macworld praises its gameplay, puzzles, and atmosphere, stating that 'the game demands that you familiarize yourself with a vernacular and logic particular to Tonetown. ... Tass Times in Tonetown grows much tricker as you progress. What makes the game so challenging is also what makes it unique: the novelty of Tonetown, its mores, and its inhabitants. These same qualities make many clues difficult to decipher.' Macworld compares Tass Times in Tonetown's gameplay to other adventure games, including Déjà Vu, Uninvited, and Mindshadow. Macworld notes that Tonetown lacks an 'operate' command as Déjà Vu and Uninvited do, instead requiring context-sensitive verbs for actions, i.e typing 'unlock' to unlock a door. Macworld criticizes Tonetown's difficulty, as well as its graphics, expressing that 'The games's graphics, although imaginative and professionally constructed, sometimes lack detail and are relegated to a small part of the screen', and suggests that a zoom feature would remedy this.^[7]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abWHAT IS THE APPLE IIGS?, Tass Times in Tonetown
2. ^ ^abTass Times trivia from MobyGames
3. ^Bateman, Selby (October 1986). 'A Great Year For Games'. Compute!. p. 18. Retrieved 9 November 2013.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
4. ^Lesser, Hartley and Pattie (December 1986). 'The Role of Computers'. Dragon (116): 69–76.
5. ^Ardai, Charles (June–July 1987). 'Titans of the Computer Gaming World / Part Three of Five: Ardai on Activision'. Computer Gaming World. p. 36.
6. ^Wagner, Roy (December 1986). 'Commodore Key'. Computer Gaming World. 1 (33): 36.
7. ^DeMaria, Rusel (June 1987). 'Stranger in a Strange Town: Tass Times in Tonetown Review'. Macworld. Mac Publishing. p. 165-166.

External links[edit]

• Tass Times in Tonetown at MobyGames

A Stranger Comes to Town

& Other Newly Iconic Plots

Depending on the source, there are as few as three or as many as thirty-six plots. (Foster-Harris’s trio includes “happy ending,” “unhappy ending,” and “super unhappy ending” AKA “tragedy,” while George Polti’s more nuanced selections range from “daring enterprise” to “slaying of unrecognized kin.”) Seven seems to constitute the happy medium: story arcs such as overcoming the monster, the quest, voyage and return, rags to riches, and rebirth, along with the basic duo of comedy and tragedy.

I’d like to suggest four new variants from books and film that may deserve to be added. The reader will probably notice how often the work of Stephen King appears in this proposed evolution of plots. Coincidence? I think not. King is arguably our greatest living storyteller, and his imagination has shaped and added to the iconography.

Note: Many entries could be listed in either the book or film category, which I think further illustrates how iconic their plots have become.

A Stranger Comes to Town. The key element here rests on the uneasy detente between insider and outsider, an experience of alienation perhaps uniquely suited to the centuries in which immigration surged in many first-world nations.

Book: Needful Things by Stephen King. A new business has opened, complete with mysterious proprietor and even more mysterious stock. As the townspeople overcome their New England reticence and drift into the store, they find that their greatest dreams—or needs—can be fulfilled here. But nothing comes for free, as any good businessman or consumer knows.

Film: Witness written by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace & Earl W. Wallace. When the stranger arrives in a community that deliberately strives to keep people out, the potential for conflict runs high. This Edgar- and Oscar-winning script brings to life the advantages of Amish culture without idealizing or romanticizing away its limitations. And once the stranger in question has become an instrumental part of his new world, the true cost of assimilation—on both sides—is revealed.

The Peculiar Little Town. Yes, another “town” type of story. In this one, it’s the town that’s strange, while the new arrivals are necessarily the opposite: utterly normal, unsuspecting, and at first resistant to recognizing the travesties of this place to which they’ve come.

House of Echoes by Brendan Duffy, in which a New York City transplant and his family must battle for their lives while rehabbing a mansion in a mountain village that is itself in danger of dying. Also, short stories by Stephen King: “You Know They Got a Hell of a Band” and “Rainy Season” in Nightmares & Dreamscapes. In the first, a couple takes a wrong turn and comes to a town that is magical, first wonderfully, then horrifically, until leaving becomes even harder than their arduous drive in. King makes wonderful use of dynamics any couple can relate to: the husband who won’t ask for directions, the desire for a break from the everyday. In the second, King shows the condescension of the rational city dweller for the superstitious country bumpkin. A couple arrives in town only to be warned of horrors about to unfold, which, of course, they dismiss, subsequently paying for this dearly. Would you have listened?

Films: Many entries in the subgenre of “house horror story” qualify, from Burnt Offerings to The Conjuring or the recent sleeper hit Get Out, but let’s use The Firm, written by David Rabe, Robert Towne, and David Rayfield, in which the workaday practice of law turns out to be a front for much darker dealings. So the “town” can be anything from individual dwellings to a whole profession.

Stranger In Town 1998

Everything-Changes-with-the-Last-Line-or-Scene. Plots whose twist or secret is revealed only at the end carry an artistic risk, for there is a lot of material to get through, a long time to wait to be surprised. But when this structure works, it makes for an unforgettable read or viewing experience.

Book: Winifred by Doris Miles Disney. This oft-overlooked mystery takes the story the reader thinks she’s been reading and utterly reverses it at the end. In this case, the mousy and increasingly disturbed protagonist turns out to have a childhood secret nobody suspects. The transformative final scene rests on one last line—and really one word in that line—to flip-flop what was believed throughout. The impact is hard to overestimate.

Film: The Sixth Sense written by M. Night Shyamalan. Did you guess? was the question everybody was asking in the wake of the writer/director’s first smash hit. This story of a psychologist and the young boy he must treat treads the line of the supernatural—the boy believes he can talk to the dead—while giving us a lens into the vulnerabilities of childhood that is undeniably authentic and real.

Mash-up of Sacrifice by a Group and Reality TV. Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” created a reality where human sacrifice becomes a mundane and shared endeavor. There are four different sacrifice offerings (pun intended) in Polti’s list of plots, but none could anticipate the contemporary ingredient that takes this notion to an absurd—yet chillingly possible—level.

Novella: “The Long Walk” by—you guessed it—Stephen King. In this story, rapacious viewers watch as contestants walk for their lives. The winner is literally the last one standing. As with the film entry below, this new category of plot shares a reliance on a dystopian future to make the outlandish scenario realistic. And as with all great speculative fiction, as the years go by, the outlandish becomes conceivable. Anyone watched an episode of “Naked and Afraid”?

The Stranger In Town Mac Os Catalina

Film: The Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins. Here the sacrifice exists on two levels—the televised games in which human contestants fight to survive, and which viewers from multiple facets of the social divide watch avidly, and the initial trade that heroine Katniss Everdeen makes when she chooses to participate in the Games in her little sister’s place.